Suffolk County Council achieves £12.9m reduction of spend thanks to smart tech
After two years of implementing Cassius, Suffolk County Council’s smart digital care service, the council has seen significant improvements in the delivery health and social care.
Cassius represents a technology-driven approach to care and is designed to help residents live happy, independent, and connected lives. Its vision is to complement traditional care models, by ushering in optimised user experiences and data-driven care delivery strategies.
Since leveraging the smart digital care technology, Suffolk County Council has seen 180,000 less care hours used annually. Notably, Cassius implementation in the ‘hospital discharge pathways’ pilot resulted in 12,900 less hours.
Importantly, integrating this technology meant the council has achieved a £12.9 million reduction of spend. The council added that advanced integration has further led to spending reductions of £430,000 from lower ambulance callouts and £1.31 million via preventative technology measures.
In addition, Cassius’ technology suite boasts daily engagement by 3,500 users. Over the past two years, 4,700 users have been equipped with 9,600 “state-of-the-art” devices, the council notes.
Community Heart Failure Nurse Rebecca Rolfe commented: “Empowering patients with tech that provides real-time monitoring and actionable insights isn’t just innovation—it’s a game-changer. Enabling residents to retain their independence with such supportive tech tools is paramount.”
Suffolk County Council has worked with technology-enabled care specialist Alcove to ensure that Cassius achieves a holistic view of residents’ needs with bespoke care plans.
Launching initially with 10 devices, Cassius’ portfolio now spans more than 100 devices, each engineered for maximised user experience and autonomy. Noteworthy assistive technologies include the Vayyar Radar Sensor, Ring Doorbell, and C-Pen.
Cassius+ further empowers stakeholders in their health journey by equipping them with self-monitoring tools, the council notes.
Hellen Bowey, Founder and CEO of Alcove, said: “Today’s figures show that Cassius is providing much more than just technology to the people of Suffolk.
“It has been able to provide the balance between technology expertise, culture change, data insights, community engagement and monitoring, in one of the only integrated care systems in the country.
“We are proud to have played a role in Cassius and to continue to help the people in Suffolk, who need care and support, to continue to live well in their own homes.”
Recently, assistive smart lamps were shown to reduce the number of falls in a care home in Cumbria by 84 percent.